Come Back To Us
by AryaTyrell
Summary: Harry has a panic attack. Luckily, Ron and Hermione are there for him. Slight H/Hr. One-shot.


**YAYYY! MY FIRST HARRY/HERMIONE FIC! :D Well, actually, not the first. I've done some on YouTube (which, you sadly can't see, because people kept sending me lameass comments at the same time, therefore making it crash. See my story "Edited for Stupidity" to see some of these comments), but this is the first one that's, like, in writing. You know? **

It was a rainy Saturday at Hogwarts, much to everyone's displeasure that morning. As everyone filed in to the Great Hall for breakfast, a feeling of disappointment and annoyance was in the atmosphere- it was Saturday, after all. Aside from the rain, the day was pretty much average. Hermione was reading an enormous book titled, "_How Do Muggles Manage Without Magic?_", which she had propped on a milk jug. Ron was beating everyone's butt at Wizard Chess, from first years to seventh years. Harry was just wandering around, wondering what to eat, when suddenly Ginny popped up in front of him.

"How _DARE _you!" she yelled at him, giving him an abnormally hard smack on his cheek, sending the raven-haired boy to the ground. She continued screaming at him despite his terrified expression, completely emerged in her part. "You're so _DUMB!_ How can you be so full of yourself all the time? Go find someone else to love you!" she screeched, so into her part that she didn't notice Harry's pupils dilate in fear as she said her lines. She didn't see him feebly cross his arms in front of his face. She also didn't see him back away from her.

But she did hear him whimper.

Ginny paused and looked at him, helpless on the ground. By now, the whole Great Hall was watching, and the babble was slowly dying down. Ginny suddenly became very aware of his frightened behavior and knelt next to him, her head tilted and expression confused.

"D-don't hurt me," Harry begged, his voice barely a whisper. Ginny reached out to touch his arm, but Harry scrambled away from her until he hit the bench. "Don't touch me!" he yelled, flinching, because Ginny was her to him anymore. Instead of her feminine voice calming him down, he heard a slithery, cold, raspy voice. Instead of his friend giving him a hug, he felt the icy cold hands of the murderer of his parents, and so many that he had loved. "GO AWAY!" he shrieked. Ginny gulped.

Ginny didn't know it, but Harry was having a panic attack.

She felt a strong grip on her arm, and Ginny looked up to see Hermione looking down at her. "Leave," she said. It was one word, but full of hatred and sadness at the same time. The redhead stood up, mumbling apologies, but Hermione didn't want to hear them. "Go now," the brunette said, giving her a small shove. Ginny walked away, her footsteps echoing in the silent Hall. Hermione knelt close to Harry, but didn't touch him. Running feet approached behind her. She turned and saw Ron above her.

"It'll be okay, Harry, it's Hermione," she began in a soothing tone, turning back to Harry. "I'm right here. Don't be scared. It's me and Ron. Shhh. It's going to be okay." Harry's eyes were directed to the floor as tears bloomed to the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill over. Hermione glanced at Ron, and a silent message passed in between them. Ron nodded.

Ron put on his "Okay-I'm-going-to-be-serious-for-once" face and turned to address the students and staff who were staring in wonder and sympathy. "Guys, I need you not to talk or move," he announced in a confident, loud voice that reached all corners of the Hall. "It's hard when we're alone, much less when we're surrounded. So if the people around this area-" he made a wide circle with his arms- "could please find another spot to sit for a few moments, that would be appreciated." Something twisted the hearts of every student present as a few students stood up and shuffled silently to other places. The look on the two teens' faces told everyone that this wasn't anything too new. However, even the slow trickle of tears on Hermione's face told everyone that, even though this was clearly a regular thing, was in no way "Everything's going to be fine" occurrence. A scream from Harry broke everyone out of their thoughts when Hermione got too close. Those nearby didn't want to turn around, not wanting to see what had a boy of such high self-esteem so… broken.

"Harry," Ron started after a deep breath. "It's May 4, 2011, 9:28 A.M. It's raining outside and we're in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Yesterday, I lost it and punched Malfoy in the face, regardless of the fact that you and Hermione were both holding me by my robes." To the untrained ear, it seemed like Ron was babbling, saying random things. But actually, he was trying to bring Harry back to reality. He knew he wasn't with them anymore. Ever since Voldemort had died, he'd been like this. Panic attacks. Every now and then, something would remind Harry of either his terrible past, or the final battle with Voldemort. The pale boy was scared, and literally shaking. All Ron wanted to do was wrap his arms around him, say it was just a dream. But he couldn't. He was smart enough not to touch him- it would just scare him more. Harry's pupils were now black pinpoints, with green irises around them, clouded and foggy. He stared at his friend, eyes flickering. Ron nudged Hermione, ushering her to speak.

"Hey, Harry," she choked out softly. "We were going to bake cookies today with the house-elves in the kitchens, because I wanted to help them, and you were the only one who wanted to come with me." Hermione was on the verge of tears again. She wished Harry could come back and be Harry again. To be the hilarious, courageous Harry, not the broken and helpless one in front of her. "Where are you, Harry?" she blurted out. "Why won't you come back to us?" Hermione broke down again. It was always the hardest on her. She was the one who loved Harry the most. She was the one he went to when he needed advice or was having a bad day, not Ron. She was the one he went to when he needed help studying for an upcoming exam or quiz, not Ron. And because of how much he relied on her, they became closer than ever before. Hermione swallowed back a retch- she didn't want to puke in front of all these people.

Harry blinked hard. Then she heard Ron gasp in relief as she realized herself that Harry was coming to. "Ron? Hermione?" Harry croaked. He was rewarded with a huge hug from Hermione and a "Oh, thank God," from Ron, as the Hall came erupted with cheers from the students. Even the staff at the High Table were standing up, clapping. Harry held back weakly, silently crying into the crook of Hermione's neck.

"Where did you go, Harry?" Hermione asked him gently, feeling Ron's arms pull them into a group hug.

"S-so many p-people. S-So many d-dead…" was all they got out of him. They squeezed him into a tighter hug. Much to his mortification, he suddenly realized the millions of pairs of eyes fixed on him. "I'm s-so sorry!" he wailed, thinking it must have been embarrassing for this to happen in public.

"Don't be, Harry, let's just get upstairs," Ron advised, who was already on his feet. He offered Harry his hand, and Harry took it, struggling to stand up. They left the Hall, which was still ablaze from relief and cheers.

"Common room, okay?" Ron said, casting a sideways glance at his friend. Harry nodded, but he hadn't really heard him. He was still frightened, and lost. He still felt like that ten year old kid, being tormented by Dudley and his gang of friends. He still felt the horror and nausea of seeing all those bodies, littering the usually gleaming floors of Hogwarts. So many lost. So many gone. Forever.

In fact, Harry still didn't understand what it meant to meet a nice adult, or be loved. His friends and Dumbledore strived to show him that, but his relationships with Cho and Ginny had long since fizzled to nothing but a single spark. Stupid moments like this unraveled everything, stipping Harry to his core, leaving him open and vulnerable. And every time, it broke his friends' hearts.

Students in the hallways parted as they passed through. Chatter came to a halt, eyes following the trio. Hermione and Ron were attached to Harry's sides, giving out warning glares, as if to _dare_ someone to come close. They were probably the only two people who could hold on to someone tightly and gingerly.

When they came to the stairs, Hermione quickly whispered to Ron, "Take him upstairs. I have to explain to McGonagall." Ron nodded, and asked Harry if he needed any assistance up the stairs. Hermione didn't hear much after that, because she was already racing back to the Great Hall, terrified something might happen again to Harry, and she wouldn't be there for him.

When she returned to the Hall, she found that students had resumed their normal breakfast routines. Hermione attempted to appear cool and casual as she walked down the long aisles between the tables. Nonetheless, eyes followed her. They obviously recognized her as one of the people who helped Harry. She smiled inwardly- the people were like dominos. Heads looked up when she passed by them. It was quite amusing, really. Hermione sped up a little as she approached the table, really wanting this mortification to end.

When she'd finally reached the new Headmistress, she whispered, "Harry just had a panic attack. It's happened since… Voldemort fell." Even though the Dark Lord had been gone for a while, the name still created a tension in the atmosphere. Although Hermione was only speaking to McGonagall, it felt like the temperature in the air around them dropped a few degrees.

"I understand," McGonagall nodded, her face impassive. "You handled the situation very well, which shows maturity and thoughtfulness. I award Gryffindor 20 points for such great friendship, loyalty, and bravery." McGonagall continued, a shadow of a smile now on her lined face.

Hermione was in shock. She felt as though they were being rewarded for Harry having an attack. "No, Professor! That's okay!" she protested.

McGonagall waved an airy hand. "You deserve it, Hermione. You've known the boy seven years." Hermione stared, a little surprised that McGonagall had actually used her first name.

"Well- thank you, Professor," she said, feeling a little flustered. She stumbled back down, half-concious.

The following days, even weeks, were filled with sensitivity and tears. And frankly, Hermione didn't care. She was willing to do anything for Harry. Jump off a bridge, burn all her books, give up school… whatever. After that, luckily, Harry was treated normally again. Hermione later found out that Ginny had acted the way she did because she was rehearsing for the end-of-year play. Of course, there were a fair share of questions floating in the air, but no real gossip. A couple of people they didn't really know tended to treat Harry as fragile and hurting, and that's okay, because… well… he was.

**Awkward note to end on, I know. But I hope you liked it. I'm assuming this takes place when the trio goes back to Hogwarts for their seventh year, which probably never happened. Hahahaaaa. **

**OH! I almost forgot… I got a new YouTube channel. Yay! It's called "hopelessromantic43" I'll be posting a lot of HHr on that channel, so if you absolutely **_**hate **_**HHr… don't subscribe. P.S: I haven't uploaded anything yet, because my computer decided today that it doesn't like YouTube, and therefore won't upload anything. So you'll probably have to wait a few days. I'm sooo sorry! **


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